WESTIES Care to honor volunteers at West Haven dinner

Susan Misur, Register Staff

Published
12:00 am EDT, Friday, June 1, 2012

WEST HAVEN -- The WESTIES Care group will honor a city businessman who has also been involved in charity work, several community volunteers and local high school students on Monday at its third annual WESTIES Care Dinner.

WESTIES Cares has named Joseph Rodrigues as its Person of the Year and wants to celebrate volunteerism, education and the community, says Phil Liscio, founder of WESTIES Care, a charity organization in the city.

Rodrigues owns five McDonald's restaurants in West Haven, New Haven, Derby, Ansonia and Bristol and ensures that his eateries give back to local residents each year. He holds annual Three Kings Celebrations at his West Haven restaurant and buys toys to give to children who attend, and has also marched with his workers in New Haven's Freddie Fixer Parade.

He and his employees have also volunteered at the Special Olympics, and his franchises donate school supplies each year to the Umbrella Back-to-School "Adopt a Child" program.

Rodrigues said he was excited to learn he was a finalist for the Person of the Year award.

"With all the people I was going up against, I didn't know I'd be chosen, and once I found out I was, I felt really good knowing that the West Haven community and WESTIES group supports everything I do giving back to the community," Rodrigues said Thursday.

He said he's passionate about what he does at work and in the community and hopes to lead by example. He now gives out scholarships to local students each year and will present either two $500 scholarships or one for $1,000 at the WESTIES Care dinner.

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